Cranberry Muffins

Original recipe from here. Those are American-style, not English muffins. Cups are American standard cups that hold 240 ml of liquid. This recipe makes 12. You will need one 12-cup (or 2 6-cup ones) regular muffin pan, for which the cups measure about 3 inches/7.5 cm in diameter.

As far as the filling goes, that recipe is very versatile. You can substitute other berries for the cranberries, or substitute the walnuts with chopped apple for cran-apple muffins. Or make some combination of fillings - as long as you keep everything to 2 cups, you should be fine.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups (165 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
2/3 cup (135 g) white sugar + 1/3 cup (70 g) brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
1/3 cup (70 g) shortening
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk**
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
1 cup chopped cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts

* Original recipe also calls for nutmeg and ginger but I skip them
** Recipe uses orange juice, but I prefer them with milk

Directions:

The main principle of making muffin batter is to mix the wet and the dry ingredients separately, and combine them in the end, mixing with a wooden spoon (no mixer!) just so all the dry ingredients get moistened. Proper muffin batter may be lumpy, but that's OK. Overmixing creates a dense heavy texture, and that is not the purpose here.

In a large bowl sift together flour, sugars, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. In a small bowl beat egg, milk, vanilla and shortening together. Stir into dry ingredients until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in cranberries and walnuts.

Spoon into muffin pan - this one is more dough-like than batter-like, so pouring is kind of difficult. Bake at 350 F (175 C) for 25 minutes or until brown.